Temporal profiling of photoreceptor lineage gene expression during murine retinal development

Publication date: Available online 10 March 2017 Source:Gene Expression Patterns Author(s): Tooka Aavani, Nobuhiko Tachibana, Valerie Wallace, Jeffrey Biernaskie, Carol Schuurmans Rod and cone photoreceptors are photosensitive cells in the retina that convert light to electrical signals that are transmitted to visual processing centres in the brain. During development, cones and rods are generated from a common pool of multipotent retinal progenitor cells (RPCs) that also give rise to other retinal cell types. Cones and rods differentiate in two distinct waves, peaking in mid-embryogenesis and the early postnatal period, respectively. As RPCs transition from making cones to generating rods, there are changes in the expression profiles of genes involved in photoreceptor cell fate specification and differentiation. To better understand the temporal transition from cone to rod genesis, we assessed the timing of onset and offset of expression of a panel of 11 transcription factors and 7 non-transcription factors known to function in photoreceptor development, examining their expression between embryonic day (E) 12.5 and postnatal day (P) 60. Transcription factor expression in the photoreceptor layer was observed as early as E12.5, beginning with Crx, Otx2, Rorb, Neurod1 and Prdm1 expression, followed at E15.5 with the expression of Thrb, Neurog1, Sall3 and Rxrg expression, and at P0 by Nrl and Nr2e3 expression. Of the non-transcription factors, peanut agglutinin lectin sta...

Source: Gene Expression Patterns - March 9, 2017 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Source Type: research